Delayed audio following

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein are systems and methods for presenting mixed reality audio. In an example method, audio is presented to a user of a wearable head device. A first position of the user&#39;s head at a first time is determined based on one or more sensors of the wearable head device. A second position of the user&#39;s head at a second time later than the first time is determined based on the one or more sensors. An audio signal is determined based on a difference between the first position and the second position. The audio signal is presented to the user via a speaker of the wearable head device. Determining the audio signal comprises determining an origin of the audio signal in a virtual environment. Presenting the audio signal to the user comprises presenting the audio signal as if originating from the determined origin. Determining the origin of the audio signal comprises applying an offset to a position of the user&#39;s head.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.62/976,986, filed Feb. 14, 2020, the contents of which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

This disclosure relates in general to systems and methods for presentingaudio to a user, and in particular to systems and methods for presentingaudio to a user in a mixed reality environment.

BACKGROUND

Virtual environments are ubiquitous in computing environments, findinguse in video games (in which a virtual environment may represent a gameworld); maps (in which a virtual environment may represent terrain to benavigated); simulations (in which a virtual environment may simulate areal environment); digital storytelling (in which virtual characters mayinteract with each other in a virtual environment); and many otherapplications. Modern computer users are generally comfortableperceiving, and interacting with, virtual environments. However, users'experiences with virtual environments can be limited by the technologyfor presenting virtual environments. For example, conventional displays(e.g., 2D display screens) and audio systems (e.g., fixed speakers) maybe unable to realize a virtual environment in ways that create acompelling, realistic, and immersive experience.

Virtual reality (“VR”), augmented reality (“AR”), mixed reality (“MR”),and related technologies (collectively, “XR”) share an ability topresent, to a user of an XR system, sensory information corresponding toa virtual environment represented by data in a computer system. Suchsystems can offer a uniquely heightened sense of immersion and realismby combining virtual visual and audio cues with real sights and sounds.Accordingly, it can be desirable to present digital sounds to a user ofan XR system in such a way that the sounds seem to beoccurring—naturally, and consistently with the user's expectations ofthe sound—in the user's real environment. Generally speaking, usersexpect that virtual sounds will take on the acoustic properties of thereal environment in which they are heard. For instance, a user of an XRsystem in a large concert hall will expect the virtual sounds of the XRsystem to have large, cavernous sonic qualities; conversely, a user in asmall apartment will expect the sounds to be more dampened, close, andimmediate. In addition to matching virtual sounds with acousticproperties of a real and/or virtual environment, realism is furtherenhanced by spatializing virtual sounds. For example, a virtual objectmay visually fly past a user from behind, and the user may expect thecorresponding virtual sound to similarly reflect the spatial movement ofthe virtual object with respect to the user.

Existing technologies often fall short of these expectations, such as bypresenting virtual audio that does not take into account a user'ssurroundings or does not correspond to spatial movements of a virtualobject, leading to feelings of inauthenticity that can compromise theuser experience. Observations of users of XR systems indicate that whileusers may be relatively forgiving of visual mismatches between virtualcontent and a real environment (e.g., inconsistencies in lighting);users may be more sensitive to auditory mismatches. Our own auditoryexperiences, refined continuously throughout our lives, can make usacutely aware of how our physical environments affect the sounds wehear; and we can be hyper-aware of sounds that are inconsistent withthose expectations. With XR systems, such inconsistencies can bejarring, and can turn an immersive and compelling experience into agimmicky, imitative one. In extreme examples, auditory inconsistenciescan cause motion sickness and other ill effects as the inner ear isunable to reconcile auditory stimuli with their corresponding visualcues.

Because of our sensitivity to our audio senses, an immersive audioexperience can be equally as important, if not more important, than animmersive visual experience. Because of the variety of sensing andcomputing power available to XR systems, XR systems may be positioned tooffer much more immersive audio experiences than traditional audiosystems, which may spatialize sound by splitting sound into one or morechannels. For example, stereo headphones may present audio to a userusing a left channel and a right channel to give the appearance of soundcoming from different directions. Some stereo headphones may simulateadditional channels (like 5.1 channels) to further enhance audiospatialization. However, traditional systems may suffer from the factthat the spatialized sound positions are static relative to the user.For example, a guitar sound that is presented to the user as originatingfive feet from the user's left ear may not dynamically change relativeto the user as the user rotates their head. Such static behavior may notreflect audio behavior in a “real” environment. A person attending alive orchestra, for example, may experience slight changes in theiraudio experience based small head movements. These small acousticbehaviors may accumulate and add to an immersive audio experience. It istherefore desirable to develop audio systems and methods for XR systemsto enhance a user's audio experience.

By taking into account the characteristics of the user's physicalenvironment, the systems and methods described herein can simulate whatwould be heard by a user if the virtual sound were a real sound,generated naturally in that environment. By presenting virtual sounds ina manner that is faithful to the way sounds behave in the real world,the user may experience a heightened sense of connectedness to the mixedreality environment. Similarly, by presenting location-aware virtualcontent that responds to the user's movements and environment, thecontent becomes more subjective, interactive, and real—for example, theuser's experience at Point A can be entirely different from his or herexperience at Point B. This enhanced realism and interactivity canprovide a foundation for new applications of mixed reality, such asthose that use spatially-aware audio to enable novel forms of gameplay,social features, or interactive behaviors.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Examples of the disclosure describe systems and methods for presentingmixed reality audio. According to examples of the disclosure, audio ispresented to a user of a wearable head device. A first position of theuser's head at a first time is determined based on one or more sensorsof the wearable head device. A second position of the user's head at asecond time later than the first time is determined based on the one ormore sensors. An audio signal is determined based on a differencebetween the first position and the second position. The audio signal ispresented to the user via a speaker of the wearable head device.Determining the audio signal comprises determining an origin of theaudio signal in a virtual environment. Presenting the audio signal tothe user comprises presenting the audio signal as if originating fromthe determined origin. Determining the origin of the audio signalcomprises applying an offset to a position of the user's head.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-1C illustrate an example mixed reality environment, accordingto some embodiments.

FIGS. 2A-2D illustrate components of an example mixed reality systemthat can be used to generate and interact with a mixed realityenvironment, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3A illustrates an example mixed reality handheld controller thatcan be used to provide input to a mixed reality environment, accordingto some embodiments.

FIG. 3B illustrates an example auxiliary unit that can be used with anexample mixed reality system, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example functional block diagram for an examplemixed reality system, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of mixed reality spatialized audio,according to some embodiments.

FIGS. 6A-6C illustrate examples of mixed reality spatialized audio,according to some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description of examples, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which it is shownby way of illustration specific examples that can be practiced. It is tobe understood that other examples can be used and structural changes canbe made without departing from the scope of the disclosed examples.

Mixed Reality Environment

Like all people, a user of a mixed reality system exists in a realenvironment that is, a three-dimensional portion of the “real world,”and all of its contents, that are perceptible by the user. For example,a user perceives a real environment using one's ordinary humansenses—sight, sound, touch, taste, smell—and interacts with the realenvironment by moving one's own body in the real environment. Locationsin a real environment can be described as coordinates in a coordinatespace; for example, a coordinate can include latitude, longitude, andelevation with respect to sea level; distances in three orthogonaldimensions from a reference point; or other suitable values. Likewise, avector can describe a quantity having a direction and a magnitude in thecoordinate space.

A computing device can maintain, for example in a memory associated withthe device, a representation of a virtual environment. As used herein, avirtual environment is a computational representation of athree-dimensional space. A virtual environment can includerepresentations of any object, action, signal, parameter, coordinate,vector, or other characteristic associated with that space. In someexamples, circuitry (e.g., a processor) of a computing device canmaintain and update a state of a virtual environment; that is, aprocessor can determine at a first time to, based on data associatedwith the virtual environment and/or input provided by a user, a state ofthe virtual environment at a second time t1. For instance, if an objectin the virtual environment is located at a first coordinate at time t0,and has certain programmed physical parameters (e.g., mass, coefficientof friction); and an input received from user indicates that a forceshould be applied to the object in a direction vector; the processor canapply laws of kinematics to determine a location of the object at timet1 using basic mechanics. The processor can use any suitable informationknown about the virtual environment, and/or any suitable input, todetermine a state of the virtual environment at a time t1. Inmaintaining and updating a state of a virtual environment, the processorcan execute any suitable software, including software relating to thecreation and deletion of virtual objects in the virtual environment;software (e.g., scripts) for defining behavior of virtual objects orcharacters in the virtual environment; software for defining thebehavior of signals (e.g., audio signals) in the virtual environment;software for creating and updating parameters associated with thevirtual environment; software for generating audio signals in thevirtual environment; software for handling input and output; softwarefor implementing network operations; software for applying asset data(e.g., animation data to move a virtual object over time); or many otherpossibilities.

Output devices, such as a display or a speaker, can present any or allaspects of a virtual environment to a user. For example, a virtualenvironment may include virtual objects (which may includerepresentations of inanimate objects; people; animals; lights; etc.)that may be presented to a user. A processor can determine a view of thevirtual environment (for example, corresponding to a “camera” with anorigin coordinate, a view axis, and a frustum); and render, to adisplay, a viewable scene of the virtual environment corresponding tothat view. Any suitable rendering technology may be used for thispurpose. In some examples, the viewable scene may include only somevirtual objects in the virtual environment, and exclude certain othervirtual objects. Similarly, a virtual environment may include audioaspects that may be presented to a user as one or more audio signals.For instance, a virtual object in the virtual environment may generate asound originating from a location coordinate of the object (e.g., avirtual character may speak or cause a sound effect); or the virtualenvironment may be associated with musical cues or ambient sounds thatmay or may not be associated with a particular location. A processor candetermine an audio signal corresponding to a “listener” coordinate—forinstance, an audio signal corresponding to a composite of sounds in thevirtual environment, and mixed and processed to simulate an audio signalthat would be heard by a listener at the listener coordinate—and presentthe audio signal to a user via one or more speakers.

Because a virtual environment exists only as a computational structure,a user cannot directly perceive a virtual environment using one'sordinary senses. Instead, a user can perceive a virtual environment onlyindirectly, as presented to the user, for example by a display,speakers, haptic output devices, etc. Similarly, a user cannot directlytouch, manipulate, or otherwise interact with a virtual environment; butcan provide input data, via input devices or sensors, to a processorthat can use the device or sensor data to update the virtualenvironment. For example, a camera sensor can provide optical dataindicating that a user is trying to move an object in a virtualenvironment, and a processor can use that data to cause the object torespond accordingly in the virtual environment.

A mixed reality system can present to the user, for example using atransmissive display and/or one or more speakers (which may, forexample, be incorporated into a wearable head device), a mixed realityenvironment (“MRE”) that combines aspects of a real environment and avirtual environment. In some embodiments, the one or more speakers maybe external to the head-mounted wearable unit. As used herein, a MRE isa simultaneous representation of a real environment and a correspondingvirtual environment. In some examples, the corresponding real andvirtual environments share a single coordinate space; in some examples,a real coordinate space and a corresponding virtual coordinate space arerelated to each other by a transformation matrix (or other suitablerepresentation). Accordingly, a single coordinate (along with, in someexamples, a transformation matrix) can define a first location in thereal environment, and also a second, corresponding, location in thevirtual environment; and vice versa.

In a MRE, a virtual object (e.g., in a virtual environment associatedwith the MRE) can correspond to a real object (e.g., in a realenvironment associated with the MRE). For instance, if the realenvironment of a MRE includes a real lamp post (a real object) at alocation coordinate, the virtual environment of the MRE may include avirtual lamp post (a virtual object) at a corresponding locationcoordinate. As used herein, the real object in combination with itscorresponding virtual object together constitute a “mixed realityobject.” It is not necessary for a virtual object to perfectly match oralign with a corresponding real object. In some examples, a virtualobject can be a simplified version of a corresponding real object. Forinstance, if a real environment includes a real lamp post, acorresponding virtual object may include a cylinder of roughly the sameheight and radius as the real lamp post (reflecting that lamp posts maybe roughly cylindrical in shape). Simplifying virtual objects in thismanner can allow computational efficiencies, and can simplifycalculations to be performed on such virtual objects. Further, in someexamples of a MRE, not all real objects in a real environment may beassociated with a corresponding virtual object. Likewise, in someexamples of a MRE, not all virtual objects in a virtual environment maybe associated with a corresponding real object. That is, some virtualobjects may solely in a virtual environment of a MRE, without anyreal-world counterpart.

In some examples, virtual objects may have characteristics that differ,sometimes drastically, from those of corresponding real objects. Forinstance, while a real environment in a MRE may include a green,two-armed cactus—a prickly inanimate object—a corresponding virtualobject in the MRE may have the characteristics of a green, two-armedvirtual character with human facial features and a surly demeanor. Inthis example, the virtual object resembles its corresponding real objectin certain characteristics (color, number of arms); but differs from thereal object in other characteristics (facial features, personality). Inthis way, virtual objects have the potential to represent real objectsin a creative, abstract, exaggerated, or fanciful manner; or to impartbehaviors (e.g., human personalities) to otherwise inanimate realobjects. In some examples, virtual objects may be purely fancifulcreations with no real-world counterpart (e.g., a virtual monster in avirtual environment, perhaps at a location corresponding to an emptyspace in a real environment).

Compared to VR systems, which present the user with a virtualenvironment while obscuring the real environment, a mixed reality systempresenting a MRE affords the advantage that the real environment remainsperceptible while the virtual environment is presented. Accordingly, theuser of the mixed reality system is able to use visual and audio cuesassociated with the real environment to experience and interact with thecorresponding virtual environment. As an example, while a user of VRsystems may struggle to perceive or interact with a virtual objectdisplayed in a virtual environment—because, as noted above, a usercannot directly perceive or interact with a virtual environment—a userof a MR system may find it intuitive and natural to interact with avirtual object by seeing, hearing, and touching a corresponding realobject in his or her own real environment. This level of interactivitycan heighten a user's feelings of immersion, connection, and engagementwith a virtual environment. Similarly, by simultaneously presenting areal environment and a virtual environment, mixed reality systems canreduce negative psychological feelings (e.g., cognitive dissonance) andnegative physical feelings (e.g., motion sickness) associated with VRsystems. Mixed reality systems further offer many possibilities forapplications that may augment or alter our experiences of the realworld.

FIG. 1A illustrates an example real environment 100 in which a user 110uses a mixed reality system 112. Mixed reality system 112 may include adisplay (e.g., a transmissive display) and one or more speakers, and oneor more sensors (e.g., a camera), for example as described below. Thereal environment 100 shown includes a rectangular room 104A, in whichuser 110 is standing; and real objects 122A (a lamp), 124A (a table),126A (a sofa), and 128A (a painting). Room 104A further includes alocation coordinate 106, which may be considered an origin of the realenvironment 100. As shown in FIG. 1A, an environment/world coordinatesystem 108 (comprising an x-axis 108X, a y-axis 108Y, and a z-axis 108Z)with its origin at point 106 (a world coordinate), can define acoordinate space for real environment 100. In some embodiments, theorigin point 106 of the environment/world coordinate system 108 maycorrespond to where the mixed reality system 112 was powered on. In someembodiments, the origin point 106 of the environment/world coordinatesystem 108 may be reset during operation. In some examples, user 110 maybe considered a real object in real environment 100; similarly, user110's body parts (e.g., hands, feet) may be considered real objects inreal environment 100. In some examples, a user/listener/head coordinatesystem 114 (comprising an x-axis 114X, a y-axis 114Y, and a z-axis 114Z)with its origin at point 115 (e.g., user/listener/head coordinate) candefine a coordinate space for the user/listener/head on which the mixedreality system 112 is located. The origin point 115 of theuser/listener/head coordinate system 114 may be defined relative to oneor more components of the mixed reality system 112. For example, theorigin point 115 of the user/listener/head coordinate system 114 may bedefined relative to the display of the mixed reality system 112 such asduring initial calibration of the mixed reality system 112. A matrix(which may include a translation matrix and a Quaternion matrix or otherrotation matrix), or other suitable representation can characterize atransformation between the user/listener/head coordinate system 114space and the environment/world coordinate system 108 space. In someembodiments, a left ear coordinate 116 and a right ear coordinate 117may be defined relative to the origin point 115 of theuser/listener/head coordinate system 114. A matrix (which may include atranslation matrix and a Quaternion matrix or other rotation matrix), orother suitable representation can characterize a transformation betweenthe left ear coordinate 116 and the right ear coordinate 117, anduser/listener/head coordinate system 114 space. The user/listener/headcoordinate system 114 can simplify the representation of locationsrelative to the user's head, or to a head-mounted device, for example,relative to the environment/world coordinate system 108. UsingSimultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM), visual odometry, or othertechniques, a transformation between user coordinate system 114 andenvironment coordinate system 108 can be determined and updated inreal-time.

FIG. 1B illustrates an example virtual environment 130 that correspondsto real environment 100. The virtual environment 130 shown includes avirtual rectangular room 104B corresponding to real rectangular room104A; a virtual object 122B corresponding to real object 122A; a virtualobject 124B corresponding to real object 124A; and a virtual object 126Bcorresponding to real object 126A. Metadata associated with the virtualobjects 122B, 124B, 126B can include information derived from thecorresponding real objects 122A, 124A, 126A. Virtual environment 130additionally includes a virtual monster 132, which does not correspondto any real object in real environment 100. Real object 128A in realenvironment 100 does not correspond to any virtual object in virtualenvironment 130. A persistent coordinate system 133 (comprising anx-axis 133X, a y-axis 133Y, and a z-axis 133Z) with its origin at point134 (persistent coordinate), can define a coordinate space for virtualcontent. The origin point 134 of the persistent coordinate system 133may be defined relative/with respect to one or more real objects, suchas the real object 126A. A matrix (which may include a translationmatrix and a Quaternion matrix or other rotation matrix), or othersuitable representation can characterize a transformation between thepersistent coordinate system 133 space and the environment/worldcoordinate system 108 space. In some embodiments, each of the virtualobjects 122B, 124B, 126B, and 132 may have their own persistentcoordinate point relative to the origin point 134 of the persistentcoordinate system 133. In some embodiments, there may be multiplepersistent coordinate systems and each of the virtual objects 122B,124B, 126B, and 132 may have their own persistent coordinate pointrelative to one or more persistent coordinate systems.

With respect to FIGS. 1A and 1B, environment/world coordinate system 108defines a shared coordinate space for both real environment 100 andvirtual environment 130. In the example shown, the coordinate space hasits origin at point 106. Further, the coordinate space is defined by thesame three orthogonal axes (108X, 108Y, 108Z). Accordingly, a firstlocation in real environment 100, and a second, corresponding locationin virtual environment 130, can be described with respect to the samecoordinate space. This simplifies identifying and displayingcorresponding locations in real and virtual environments, because thesame coordinates can be used to identify both locations. However, insome examples, corresponding real and virtual environments need not usea shared coordinate space. For instance, in some examples (not shown), amatrix (which may include a translation matrix and a Quaternion matrixor other rotation matrix), or other suitable representation cancharacterize a transformation between a real environment coordinatespace and a virtual environment coordinate space.

FIG. 1C illustrates an example MRE 150 that simultaneously presentsaspects of real environment 100 and virtual environment 130 to user 110via mixed reality system 112. In the example shown, MRE 150simultaneously presents user 110 with real objects 122A, 124A, 126A, and128A from real environment 100 (e.g., via a transmissive portion of adisplay of mixed reality system 112); and virtual objects 122B, 124B,126B, and 132 from virtual environment 130 (e.g., via an active displayportion of the display of mixed reality system 112). As above, originpoint 106 acts as an origin for a coordinate space corresponding to MRE150, and coordinate system 108 defines an x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis forthe coordinate space.

In the example shown, mixed reality objects include corresponding pairsof real objects and virtual objects (i.e., 122A/122B, 124A/124B,126A/126B) that occupy corresponding locations in coordinate space 108.In some examples, both the real objects and the virtual objects may besimultaneously visible to user 110. This may be desirable in, forexample, instances where the virtual object presents informationdesigned to augment a view of the corresponding real object (such as ina museum application where a virtual object presents the missing piecesof an ancient damaged sculpture). In some examples, the virtual objects(122B, 124B, and/or 126B) may be displayed (e.g., via active pixelatedocclusion using a pixelated occlusion shutter) so as to occlude thecorresponding real objects (122A, 124A, and/or 126A). This may bedesirable in, for example, instances where the virtual object acts as avisual replacement for the corresponding real object (such as in aninteractive storytelling application where an inanimate real objectbecomes a “living” character).

In some examples, real objects (e.g., 122A, 124A, 126A) may beassociated with virtual content or helper data that may not necessarilyconstitute virtual objects. Virtual content or helper data canfacilitate processing or handling of virtual objects in the mixedreality environment. For example, such virtual content could includetwo-dimensional representations of corresponding real objects; customasset types associated with corresponding real objects; or statisticaldata associated with corresponding real objects. This information canenable or facilitate calculations involving a real object withoutincurring unnecessary computational overhead.

In some examples, the presentation described above may also incorporateaudio aspects. For instance, in MRE 150, virtual monster 132 could beassociated with one or more audio signals, such as a footstep soundeffect that is generated as the monster walks around MRE 150. Asdescribed further below, a processor of mixed reality system 112 cancompute an audio signal corresponding to a mixed and processed compositeof all such sounds in MRE 150, and present the audio signal to user 110via one or more speakers included in mixed reality system 112 and/or oneor more external speakers.

Example Mixed Reality System

Example mixed reality system 112 can include a wearable head device(e.g., a wearable augmented reality or mixed reality head device)comprising a display (which may include left and right transmissivedisplays, which may be near-eye displays, and associated components forcoupling light from the displays to the user's eyes); left and rightspeakers (e.g., positioned adjacent to the user's left and right ears,respectively); an inertial measurement unit (IMU)(e.g., mounted to atemple arm of the head device); an orthogonal coil electromagneticreceiver (e.g., mounted to the left temple piece); left and rightcameras (e.g., depth (time-of-flight) cameras) oriented away from theuser; and left and right eye cameras oriented toward the user (e.g., fordetecting the user's eye movements). However, a mixed reality system 112can incorporate any suitable display technology, and any suitablesensors (e.g., optical, infrared, acoustic, LIDAR, EOG, GPS, magnetic).In addition, mixed reality system 112 may incorporate networkingfeatures (e.g., Wi-Fi capability) to communicate with other devices andsystems, including other mixed reality systems. Mixed reality system 112may further include a battery (which may be mounted in an auxiliaryunit, such as a belt pack designed to be worn around a user's waist), aprocessor, and a memory. The wearable head device of mixed realitysystem 112 may include tracking components, such as an IMU or othersuitable sensors, configured to output a set of coordinates of thewearable head device relative to the user's environment. In someexamples, tracking components may provide input to a processorperforming a Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) and/or visualodometry algorithm. In some examples, mixed reality system 112 may alsoinclude a handheld controller 300, and/or an auxiliary unit 320, whichmay be a wearable beltpack, as described further below.

FIGS. 2A-2D illustrate components of an example mixed reality system 200(which may correspond to mixed reality system 112) that may be used topresent a MRE (which may correspond to MRE 150), or other virtualenvironment, to a user. FIG. 2A illustrates a perspective view of awearable head device 2102 included in example mixed reality system 200.FIG. 2B illustrates a top view of wearable head device 2102 worn on auser's head 2202. FIG. 2C illustrates a front view of wearable headdevice 2102. FIG. 2D illustrates an edge view of example eyepiece 2110of wearable head device 2102. As shown in FIGS. 2A-2C, the examplewearable head device 2102 includes an example left eyepiece (e.g., aleft transparent waveguide set eyepiece) 2108 and an example righteyepiece (e.g., a right transparent waveguide set eyepiece) 2110. Eacheyepiece 2108 and 2110 can include transmissive elements through which areal environment can be visible, as well as display elements forpresenting a display (e.g., via imagewise modulated light) overlappingthe real environment. In some examples, such display elements caninclude surface diffractive optical elements for controlling the flow ofimagewise modulated light. For instance, the left eyepiece 2108 caninclude a left incoupling grating set 2112, a left orthogonal pupilexpansion (OPE) grating set 2120, and a left exit (output) pupilexpansion (EPE) grating set 2122. Similarly, the right eyepiece 2110 caninclude a right incoupling grating set 2118, a right OPE grating set2114 and a right EPE grating set 2116. Imagewise modulated light can betransferred to a user's eye via the incoupling gratings 2112 and 2118,OPEs 2114 and 2120, and EPE 2116 and 2122. Each incoupling grating set2112, 2118 can be configured to deflect light toward its correspondingOPE grating set 2120, 2114. Each OPE grating set 2120, 2114 can bedesigned to incrementally deflect light down toward its associated EPE2122, 2116, thereby horizontally extending an exit pupil being formed.Each EPE 2122, 2116 can be configured to incrementally redirect at leasta portion of light received from its corresponding OPE grating set 2120,2114 outward to a user eyebox position (not shown) defined behind theeyepieces 2108, 2110, vertically extending the exit pupil that is formedat the eyebox. Alternatively, in lieu of the incoupling grating sets2112 and 2118, OPE grating sets 2114 and 2120, and EPE grating sets 2116and 2122, the eyepieces 2108 and 2110 can include other arrangements ofgratings and/or refractive and reflective features for controlling thecoupling of imagewise modulated light to the user's eyes.

In some examples, wearable head device 2102 can include a left templearm 2130 and a right temple arm 2132, where the left temple arm 2130includes a left speaker 2134 and the right temple arm 2132 includes aright speaker 2136. An orthogonal coil electromagnetic receiver 2138 canbe located in the left temple piece, or in another suitable location inthe wearable head unit 2102. An Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) 2140 canbe located in the right temple arm 2132, or in another suitable locationin the wearable head device 2102. The wearable head device 2102 can alsoinclude a left depth (e.g., time-of-flight) camera 2142 and a rightdepth camera 2144. The depth cameras 2142, 2144 can be suitably orientedin different directions so as to together cover a wider field of view.

In the example shown in FIGS. 2A-2D, a left source of imagewisemodulated light 2124 can be optically coupled into the left eyepiece2108 through the left incoupling grating set 2112, and a right source ofimagewise modulated light 2126 can be optically coupled into the righteyepiece 2110 through the right incoupling grating set 2118. Sources ofimagewise modulated light 2124, 2126 can include, for example, opticalfiber scanners; projectors including electronic light modulators such asDigital Light Processing (DLP) chips or Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS)modulators; or emissive displays, such as micro Light Emitting Diode(μLED) or micro Organic Light Emitting Diode (μOLED) panels coupled intothe incoupling grating sets 2112, 2118 using one or more lenses perside. The input coupling grating sets 2112, 2118 can deflect light fromthe sources of imagewise modulated light 2124, 2126 to angles above thecritical angle for Total Internal Reflection (TIR) for the eyepieces2108, 2110. The OPE grating sets 2114, 2120 incrementally deflect lightpropagating by TIR down toward the EPE grating sets 2116, 2122. The EPEgrating sets 2116, 2122 incrementally couple light toward the user'sface, including the pupils of the user's eyes.

In some examples, as shown in FIG. 2D, each of the left eyepiece 2108and the right eyepiece 2110 includes a plurality of waveguides 2402. Forexample, each eyepiece 2108, 2110 can include multiple individualwaveguides, each dedicated to a respective color channel (e.g., red,blue and green). In some examples, each eyepiece 2108, 2110 can includemultiple sets of such waveguides, with each set configured to impartdifferent wavefront curvature to emitted light. The wavefront curvaturemay be convex with respect to the user's eyes, for example to present avirtual object positioned a distance in front of the user (e.g., by adistance corresponding to the reciprocal of wavefront curvature). Insome examples, EPE grating sets 2116, 2122 can include curved gratinggrooves to effect convex wavefront curvature by altering the Poyntingvector of exiting light across each EPE.

In some examples, to create a perception that displayed content isthree-dimensional, stereoscopically-adjusted left and right eye imagerycan be presented to the user through the imagewise light modulators2124, 2126 and the eyepieces 2108, 2110. The perceived realism of apresentation of a three-dimensional virtual object can be enhanced byselecting waveguides (and thus corresponding the wavefront curvatures)such that the virtual object is displayed at a distance approximating adistance indicated by the stereoscopic left and right images. Thistechnique may also reduce motion sickness experienced by some users,which may be caused by differences between the depth perception cuesprovided by stereoscopic left and right eye imagery, and the autonomicaccommodation (e.g., object distance-dependent focus) of the human eye.

FIG. 2D illustrates an edge-facing view from the top of the righteyepiece 2110 of example wearable head device 2102. As shown in FIG. 2D,the plurality of waveguides 2402 can include a first subset of threewaveguides 2404 and a second subset of three waveguides 2406. The twosubsets of waveguides 2404, 2406 can be differentiated by different EPEgratings featuring different grating line curvatures to impart differentwavefront curvatures to exiting light. Within each of the subsets ofwaveguides 2404, 2406 each waveguide can be used to couple a differentspectral channel (e.g., one of red, green and blue spectral channels) tothe user's right eye 2206. (Although not shown in FIG. 2D, the structureof the left eyepiece 2108 is analogous to the structure of the righteyepiece 2110.)

FIG. 3A illustrates an example handheld controller component 300 of amixed reality system 200. In some examples, handheld controller 300includes a grip portion 346 and one or more buttons 350 disposed along atop surface 348. In some examples, buttons 350 may be configured for useas an optical tracking target, e.g., for tracking six-degree-of-freedom(6DOF) motion of the handheld controller 300, in conjunction with acamera or other optical sensor (which may be mounted in a head unit(e.g., wearable head device 2102) of mixed reality system 200). In someexamples, handheld controller 300 includes tracking components (e.g., anIMU or other suitable sensors) for detecting position or orientation,such as position or orientation relative to wearable head device 2102.In some examples, such tracking components may be positioned in a handleof handheld controller 300, and/or may be mechanically coupled to thehandheld controller. Handheld controller 300 can be configured toprovide one or more output signals corresponding to one or more of apressed state of the buttons; or a position, orientation, and/or motionof the handheld controller 300 (e.g., via an IMU). Such output signalsmay be used as input to a processor of mixed reality system 200. Suchinput may correspond to a position, orientation, and/or movement of thehandheld controller (and, by extension, to a position, orientation,and/or movement of a hand of a user holding the controller). Such inputmay also correspond to a user pressing buttons 350.

FIG. 3B illustrates an example auxiliary unit 320 of a mixed realitysystem 200. The auxiliary unit 320 can include a battery to provideenergy to operate the system 200, and can include a processor forexecuting programs to operate the system 200. As shown, the exampleauxiliary unit 320 includes a clip 2128, such as for attaching theauxiliary unit 320 to a user's belt. Other form factors are suitable forauxiliary unit 320 and will be apparent, including form factors that donot involve mounting the unit to a user's belt. In some examples,auxiliary unit 320 is coupled to the wearable head device 2102 through amulticonduit cable that can include, for example, electrical wires andfiber optics. Wireless connections between the auxiliary unit 320 andthe wearable head device 2102 can also be used.

In some examples, mixed reality system 200 can include one or moremicrophones to detect sound and provide corresponding signals to themixed reality system. In some examples, a microphone may be attached to,or integrated with, wearable head device 2102, and may be configured todetect a user's voice. In some examples, a microphone may be attachedto, or integrated with, handheld controller 300 and/or auxiliary unit320. Such a microphone may be configured to detect environmental sounds,ambient noise, voices of a user or a third party, or other sounds.

FIG. 4 shows an example functional block diagram that may correspond toan example mixed reality system, such as mixed reality system 200described above (which may correspond to mixed reality system 112 withrespect to FIG. 1). As shown in FIG. 4, example handheld controller 400B(which may correspond to handheld controller 300 (a “totem”)) includes atotem-to-wearable head device six degree of freedom (6DOF) totemsubsystem 404A and example wearable head device 400A (which maycorrespond to wearable head device 2102) includes a totem-to-wearablehead device 6DOF subsystem 404B. In the example, the 6DOF totemsubsystem 404A and the 6DOF subsystem 404B cooperate to determine sixcoordinates (e.g., offsets in three translation directions and rotationalong three axes) of the handheld controller 400B relative to thewearable head device 400A. The six degrees of freedom may be expressedrelative to a coordinate system of the wearable head device 400A. Thethree translation offsets may be expressed as X, Y, and Z offsets insuch a coordinate system, as a translation matrix, or as some otherrepresentation. The rotation degrees of freedom may be expressed assequence of yaw, pitch and roll rotations, as a rotation matrix, as aquaternion, or as some other representation. In some examples, thewearable head device 400A; one or more depth cameras 444 (and/or one ormore non-depth cameras) included in the wearable head device 400A;and/or one or more optical targets (e.g., buttons 350 of handheldcontroller 400B as described above, or dedicated optical targetsincluded in the handheld controller 400B) can be used for 6DOF tracking.In some examples, the handheld controller 400B can include a camera, asdescribed above; and the wearable head device 400A can include anoptical target for optical tracking in conjunction with the camera. Insome examples, the wearable head device 400A and the handheld controller400B each include a set of three orthogonally oriented solenoids whichare used to wirelessly send and receive three distinguishable signals.By measuring the relative magnitude of the three distinguishable signalsreceived in each of the coils used for receiving, the 6DOF of thewearable head device 400A relative to the handheld controller 400B maybe determined. Additionally, 6DOF totem subsystem 404A can include anInertial Measurement Unit (IMU) that is useful to provide improvedaccuracy and/or more timely information on rapid movements of thehandheld controller 400B.

In some examples, it may become necessary to transform coordinates froma local coordinate space (e.g., a coordinate space fixed relative to thewearable head device 400A) to an inertial coordinate space (e.g., acoordinate space fixed relative to the real environment), for example inorder to compensate for the movement of the wearable head device 400Arelative to the coordinate system 108. For instance, suchtransformations may be necessary for a display of the wearable headdevice 400A to present a virtual object at an expected position andorientation relative to the real environment (e.g., a virtual personsitting in a real chair, facing forward, regardless of the wearable headdevice's position and orientation), rather than at a fixed position andorientation on the display (e.g., at the same position in the rightlower corner of the display), to preserve the illusion that the virtualobject exists in the real environment (and does not, for example, appearpositioned unnaturally in the real environment as the wearable headdevice 400A shifts and rotates). In some examples, a compensatorytransformation between coordinate spaces can be determined by processingimagery from the depth cameras 444 using a SLAM and/or visual odometryprocedure in order to determine the transformation of the wearable headdevice 400A relative to the coordinate system 108. In the example shownin FIG. 4, the depth cameras 444 are coupled to a SLAM/visual odometryblock 406 and can provide imagery to block 406. The SLAM/visual odometryblock 406 implementation can include a processor configured to processthis imagery and determine a position and orientation of the user'shead, which can then be used to identify a transformation between a headcoordinate space and another coordinate space (e.g., an inertialcoordinate space). Similarly, in some examples, an additional source ofinformation on the user's head pose and location is obtained from an IMU409. Information from the IMU 409 can be integrated with informationfrom the SLAM/visual odometry block 406 to provide improved accuracyand/or more timely information on rapid adjustments of the user's headpose and position.

In some examples, the depth cameras 444 can supply 3D imagery to a handgesture tracker 411, which may be implemented in a processor of thewearable head device 400A. The hand gesture tracker 411 can identify auser's hand gestures, for example by matching 3D imagery received fromthe depth cameras 444 to stored patterns representing hand gestures.Other suitable techniques of identifying a user's hand gestures will beapparent.

In some examples, one or more processors 416 may be configured toreceive data from the wearable head device's 6DOF headgear subsystem404B, the IMU 409, the SLAM/visual odometry block 406, depth cameras444, and/or the hand gesture tracker 411. The processor 416 can alsosend and receive control signals from the 6DOF totem system 404A. Theprocessor 416 may be coupled to the 6DOF totem system 404A wirelessly,such as in examples where the handheld controller 400B is untethered.Processor 416 may further communicate with additional components, suchas an audio-visual content memory 418, a Graphical Processing Unit (GPU)420, and/or a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) audio spatializer 422. TheDSP audio spatializer 422 may be coupled to a Head Related TransferFunction (HRTF) memory 425. The GPU 420 can include a left channeloutput coupled to the left source of imagewise modulated light 424 and aright channel output coupled to the right source of imagewise modulatedlight 426. GPU 420 can output stereoscopic image data to the sources ofimagewise modulated light 424, 426, for example as described above withrespect to FIGS. 2A-2D. The DSP audio spatializer 422 can output audioto a left speaker 412 and/or a right speaker 414. The DSP audiospatializer 422 can receive input from processor 419 indicating adirection vector from a user to a virtual sound source (which may bemoved by the user, e.g., via the handheld controller 320). Based on thedirection vector, the DSP audio spatializer 422 can determine acorresponding HRTF (e.g., by accessing a HRTF, or by interpolatingmultiple HRTFs). The DSP audio spatializer 422 can then apply thedetermined HRTF to an audio signal, such as an audio signalcorresponding to a virtual sound generated by a virtual object. This canenhance the believability and realism of the virtual sound, byincorporating the relative position and orientation of the user relativeto the virtual sound in the mixed reality environment—that is, bypresenting a virtual sound that matches a user's expectations of whatthat virtual sound would sound like if it were a real sound in a realenvironment.

In some examples, such as shown in FIG. 4, one or more of processor 416,GPU 420, DSP audio spatializer 422, HRTF memory 425, and audio/visualcontent memory 418 may be included in an auxiliary unit 400C (which maycorrespond to auxiliary unit 320 described above). The auxiliary unit400C may include a battery 427 to power its components and/or to supplypower to the wearable head device 400A or handheld controller 400B.Including such components in an auxiliary unit, which can be mounted toa user's waist, can limit the size and weight of the wearable headdevice 400A, which can in turn reduce fatigue of a user's head and neck.

While FIG. 4 presents elements corresponding to various components of anexample mixed reality system, various other suitable arrangements ofthese components will become apparent to those skilled in the art. Forexample, elements presented in FIG. 4 as being associated with auxiliaryunit 400C could instead be associated with the wearable head device 400Aor handheld controller 400B. Furthermore, some mixed reality systems mayforgo entirely a handheld controller 400B or auxiliary unit 400C. Suchchanges and modifications are to be understood as being included withinthe scope of the disclosed examples.

Delayed Audio Following

MR systems can be well-positioned to utilize sensing and/or computing toprovide an immersive audio experience. In particular, MR systems canoffer unique ways of spatializing sound to immerse a user in a MRE. MRsystems can include speakers for presenting audio signals to users, suchas described above with respect to speakers 412 and 414. An MR systemcan determine an audio signal to play based on a virtual environment(e.g., a MRE); for example, an audio signal can adopt certaincharacteristics depending on a location in the virtual environment(e.g., an origin of a sound in the virtual environment), and the user'slocation in the virtual environment. Similarly, audio signals can adoptaudio characteristics that simulate the effect of a sound traveling at avelocity, or with an orientation, in the virtual environment. Thesecharacteristics can include placement in a stereo field. Some audiosystems (e.g., headphones) divide a soundtrack into one or more channelsto present audio as originating from different locations. For example,headphones may utilize two channels, one channel for each ear of a user.If a soundtrack accompanies a virtual object moving across a screen(e.g., a plane flying across the screen in a movie), an accompanyingsound (e.g., engine noise) may be presented as moving from the user'sleft side to the user's right side. Because the audio simulates how aperson perceives a real object moving through the real world, thespatialized audio adds to the immersion of the virtual experience.

Some audio systems may suffer limitations in their ability to provideimmersive spatialized audio. For example, some headphone systems maypresent sound in a stereo field by separately presenting left and rightaudio channels to a user's left and right ears; but without knowledge ofthe location (e.g., position and/or orientation) of the user's head, thesound may be heard to be statically fixed in relation to the user'shead. For example, a sound presented to a user's left ear through a leftchannel may continue to be presented to the user's left ear regardlessof whether the user turns their head, moves forward, backward, side toside, etc. This static behavior may be undesirable for MR systemsbecause it may be inconsistent with a user's expectations for how soundsdynamically behave in a real environment. For example, in a realenvironment with a sound source at a fixed position, a listener willexpect sounds emitted by that source, and heard by the listener's leftand right ears, to become louder or softer, or to exhibit other dynamicaudio characteristics (e.g., Doppler effects), in accordance with howthe user moves and rotates with respect to that sound source's position.For example, if a static sound source is initially located on a user'sleft side, the sounds emitted by that sound source may predominate inthe user's left ear as compared to the user's right ear. But if the userrotates 180 degrees, such that the sound source is now located on theuser's right side, the user will expect the sounds to predominate in theuser's right ear. Similarly, while the user moves, the sound source maycontinually appear to be changing location relative to the user (e.g.,minute positional changes may result in minute, but perceptible, changesin detected volume at each ear). In virtual or mixed realityenvironments, when sounds that behave in accordance with a user'sexpectations, based on real-world audio experiences, the user's sense ofplace and immersion can be enhanced. Additionally, users can takeadvantage of realistic audio cues to identify and place a sound sourcewithin the environment.

MR systems (e.g., MR system 112, 200) can enhance the immersion ofspatialized audio by adapting real-world audio behavior. For example, aMR system may utilize one or more cameras of the MR system and/or one ormore inertial measurement unit sensors to perform SLAM computations.Using SLAM techniques, a MR system may construct a three-dimensional mapof its surroundings and/or identify a location of the MR system withinthe surroundings. In some embodiments, a MR system may utilize SLAM toestimate headpose, which can include information about a user's head'sposition (e.g., location and/or orientation) in three-dimensional space.In some embodiments, the MR system may utilize one or more coordinateframes to identify locations of objects and/or the MR system in an“absolute” sense (e.g., a virtual object's location may be tied to areal location of a real environment instead of simply being lockedrelative to the MR system or a screen).

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of mixed reality spatialized audio,according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, a MR system may useSLAM techniques to place one or more virtual objects 504 a and 504 b ina MRE such that the virtual objects are fixed relative to theenvironment, instead of fixed relative to a user. In some embodiments,virtual objects 504 a and 504 b can be configured to be sources ofsound. Virtual objects 504 a and/or 504 b may be visible (e.g., as avirtual guitar) to user 502, or virtual objects 504 a and/or 504 b maynot be visible to a user (e.g., as invisible points from which soundradiates). Using SLAM techniques, a MR system can place multiple virtualsound sources (e.g., virtual objects 504 a and/or 504 b) around user 502to present spatialized audio. As user 502 rotates their head, user 502may be able to perceive the location of virtual objects 504 a and 504 b(e.g., by observing that virtual object 504 a is louder when user 502 isin a first orientation and softer when user 502 is in a secondorientation). This approach can have the advantage of allowing user 502to perceive dynamic changes in spatialization based on movements of user502. This may create a more immersive audio experience than fixed soundsthat do not adapt to a location of user 502.

However, in some embodiments, the exemplary approach shown in FIG. 5 maysuffer from some disadvantages. In some applications, such as composedmusic scores, a sound designer may wish to limit the degree to which asound exhibits spatialized behavior. Further, in some situations,spatialized audio may lead to harsh or unpleasant results. For example,fixing virtual object 504 b relative to position in a MRE may mean thata sound radiating from virtual object 504 b can become louder thanintended when user 502 approaches virtual object 504 b. If virtualobject 504 b corresponds to the sound of a cello and is part of avirtual orchestra, the orchestral sound may sound distorted to user 502if user 502 is standing too close to virtual object 504 b. It may not bedesirable to allow a user (e.g., user 502) to walk too close to a soundsource (e.g., virtual object 504 b) because it may deviate from adesigned experience. For example, the overpowering sound of a virtualcello may drown out sounds from virtual violins.

In addition to possibly deviating from a designed experience, allowing auser to approach a virtual sound source may be confusing ordisconcerting to the user—particularly in extreme examples, such aswhere a user's location very nearly overlaps with the location of asound source, or where a user's head moves or rotates at high speedswith respect to the sound source. In some embodiments, virtual object504 b may be an invisible point from which sound radiates. If user 502approaches virtual object 504 b, user 502 may perceive sound to bedistinctly radiating from an invisible point. This can be undesirableif, for example, the sound draws unwanted attention to virtual object504 b (e.g., if virtual object 504 b was configured to be invisible toavoid attracting the user's attention). In some embodiments, an intendedcentral focus for a user may be visuals and/or a narrative story, andspatialized audio may be used to enhance the user's immersion in thevisuals and/or narrative story. For example, a MR system may present athree-dimensional “movie” to a user where the user may walk around andobserve characters and/or objects from different perspectives. In suchapplications, it can be disconcerting for a user to perceive aninvisible point located in the mixed reality scene where sound isradiating from. For example, in a battle scene, it may not be desirableto allow a user to approach a point where an invisible guitar track isplaying from. Sound designers and story creators may wish to obtainadditional control over a spatialized audio experience, in order topreserve the intended narrative. It can therefore be desirable todevelop additional methods of providing immersive, spatialized audio.For example, it can be desirable to permit audio designers to createcustom audio behaviors (e.g., controlled by scripts executed by ascripting engine) that can be associated with sounds on an individualbasis. In some cases, default audio behaviors can apply unlessoverridden by a custom audio behavior. In some cases, custom audiobehaviors can include manipulating a sound's origin in order to producea desired audio experience.

FIGS. 6A-6C illustrate examples of mixed reality spatialized audio,according to some embodiments. Spatialized audio can create a plausiblethree-dimensional MRE (e.g., MRE 150) experience in a similar manner aspersistent visual content. As a user walks around a real environment(e.g., real environment 100), the user may expect to see persistentvirtual content behave like real objects (e.g., the persistent virtualcontent appears larger as a user approaches it and gets smaller as theuser moves away). Similarly, a user may expect sound sources to behaveas if the sound sources existed in a real environment while the usermoves around (e.g., a sound source may sound louder as a user approachesit and may sound softer as the user moves away). In some embodiments,immersive, spatialized audio can be controlled by manipulating a soundsource with respect to a user's head—for instance, through a “delayedfollow” effect. For example, one or more sound sources can be spacedaround and/or tied to a user's head in a first position. At the firstposition, the one or more sound sources may be located at designatedpositions, which may be positions intended (e.g., by a developer oraudio designer) for sound sources to produce a particular audioexperience. A sound source's position can correspond to an origin of thesound source—e.g., a coordinate in a MRE from which the sound appears tooriginate. A sound source origin can be expressed as an offset (e.g., avector offset) from a user's head (or other listener position); that is,presenting a sound to a user can comprise determining an offset from auser's head, and applying that offset to the user's head to arrive atthe sound source origin. A first position of the user's head at a firsttime can be determined, for example by one or more sensors of a wearablehead device, such as described above (e.g., with respect to wearablehead device 401A). A second position of the user's head at a second,later time can then be determined. Differences between the first andsecond positions of the head can be used to manipulate an audio signal.For example, in some cases, when the user moves their head to the secondposition, the one or more sound sources can be instructed to “trail” themovement of the head such that the position of sound sources may deviatefrom their designated positions, which may be spaced around and/or tiedto the user's head (e.g., the designated positions spaced around and/ortied to the user's head may move/change in relation to the user's head,and the sound sources may no longer be located at their designatedpositions spaced around and/or tied to the user's head). Thismanipulation of the sound source can be implemented, for example, bymoving the sound source origin from a first position, by an amount lessthan a difference between the first and second positions of the head. Insome embodiments, designated positions may remain fixed relative to auser's head position, but corresponding virtual sound sources may be“elastically” tied to the user's head position, and may trail behind acorresponding designated position. In some embodiments, the soundsources may return to their designated positions spaced around and/ortied to the user's head (e.g., the same positions intended to producethe particular audio experience) at some point after the user's head hasreached the second position. Other manipulations of the sound sourceorigin, such as others that determine the origin based on a differencebetween first and second head positions, are contemplated and are withinthe scope of this disclosure. More generally, custom audio dynamics canbe created by manipulating the origin of a sound source with respect tothe user's head, or to some other object (including a moving object) ina MRE. For instance, the sound source origin can be defined as afunction of a user's head position and orientation, or functions of thechange or accumulation of the head position or orientation over time(e.g., functions of integrals or derivatives of the head position ororientation). Such functions can be used for creative effect, such as tosimulate a sound traveling at a particular velocity, or in a particulardirection. For instance, a velocity of a user's head movement can bedetermined (e.g., as the derivative of the head movement, determined byone or more sensors of a wearable head device as described above), and asound can be presented as if the sound origin is traveling at that samevelocity (or a different velocity based on the head's velocity). Asanother example, a change in orientation of a user's head can bedetermined, such as via one or more sensors of a wearable head devicesuch as described above, and a sound can be presented as if the soundorigin is moving with an orientation based on the change in the user'shead orientation. Expressing a sound origin as a function of the user'shead position or orientation can also be adapted to gracefully handlesituations that would otherwise cause undesirable audio results. Forexample, by defining a function that limits the degree to which soundsources move relative to a user's head, extreme or unwanted audioeffects from those sound sources can be limited or avoided. This can beimplemented, for instance, by establishing a threshold rate of change ofthe user's head position; if the rate of change exceeds the threshold,the change in position of a sound source origin can be limitedaccordingly (e.g., by setting the origin to a first coordinate if thethreshold is exceeded, and setting the origin to a different coordinateif the threshold is not exceeded). As another example of avoidingunwanted audio effects, a sound source origin can be configured toalways remain at least a minimum distance from the user; for instance,if the magnitude of an offset between the sound source origin and theuser's head falls below a minimum threshold, the origin can be relocatedto an alternate position that is at least a minimum distance from theuser's head.

As shown in FIG. 6A, in some embodiments, virtual objects 604 a and/or604 b may be spaced around and/or tied to center 602. Virtual objects604 a and/or 604 b may be visible (e.g., displayed to a user) orinvisible (e.g., not displayed to a user). In some embodiments, virtualobjects 604 a and/or 604 b may not interact with other virtual objects.For example, virtual objects 604 a and/or 604 b may not collide withother virtual objects; virtual objects 604 a and/or 604 b may notreflect/absorb/transmit light from other virtual objects; and/or virtualobjects 604 a and/or 604 b may not reflect/absorb/transmit sound fromother virtual objects. In some embodiments, virtual objects 604 a and/or604 b may interact with other virtual objects.

In some embodiments, virtual objects 604 a and/or 604 b may beassociated with one or more sound sources. In some cases, each virtualobject may correspond to one sound source. For example, virtual objects604 a and/or 604 b may be configured to virtually radiate sound fromtheir locations in a MRE. Configuring a sound source so that it can beperceived as radiating from a certain location can be done using anysuitable method. For example, a head-related transfer function (“HRTF”)can be used to simulate a sound originating from a particular location.In some embodiments, a generic HRTF can be used. In some embodiments,one or more microphones, for example, around a user's ear (e.g., one ormore microphones of a MR system) can be used to determine one or moreuser-specific HRTFs. In some embodiments, a distance between a user anda virtual sound source may be simulated using suitable methods (e.g.,loudness attenuation, high frequency attenuation, a mix of direct andreverberant sounds, motion parallax, etc.). In some embodiments, virtualobjects 604 a and/or 604 b may be configured to radiate sound as a pointsource. In some embodiments, virtual objects 604 a and/or 604 b mayinclude a physical three-dimensional model of a sound source, and asound may be generated by modelling interactions with the sound source.For example, virtual object 604 a may include a virtual guitar includinga wood body, strings, tuning pegs, etc. A sound may be generated bymodelling plucking one or more strings and how the action interacts withother components of the virtual guitar.

In some embodiments, virtual objects 604 a and/or 604 b may radiatesound omnidirectionally. In some embodiments, virtual objects 604 aand/or 604 b may radiate sound directionally. In some embodiments,virtual objects 604 a and/or 604 b may be configured to include soundsources, where each sound source may include a music stem. In someembodiments, a music stem may be an arbitrary subset of an entiremusical sound. For example, an orchestral soundtrack may include aviolin stem, a cello stem, a bass stem, a trumpet stem, a timpani stem,etc. In some embodiments, channels of a multi-channel sound track can berepresented as stems. For example, a two-channel sound track may includea left stem and a right stem. In some embodiments, single tracks of amix may be represented as stems. In some embodiments, a musicalsoundtrack may be split into stems according to frequency bands. Stemscan represent any arbitrary subset of an entire sound.

In some embodiments, virtual objects 604 a and/or 604 b may be tied toone or more objects (e.g., center 602 and/or vector 606). For example,virtual object 604 a may be assigned to designated position 608 a. Insome embodiments, designated position 608 a can be a fixed pointrelative to vector 606 and/or center 602. In some embodiments, virtualobject 604 b may be assigned to designated position 608 b. In someembodiments, designated position 608 b can be a fixed point relative tovector 606 and/or center 602. Center 602 can be a point and/or athree-dimensional object. In some embodiments, virtual objects 604 aand/or 604 b may be tied to a point of a three-dimensional object (e.g.,a center point, or a point on a surface of the three-dimensionalobject). In some embodiments, center 602 can correspond to any suitablepoint (e.g., a center of a user's head). A center of a user's head maybe estimated using a center of a head-wearable MR system (which may haveknown dimensions) and average head dimensions, or using other suitablemethods. In some embodiments, virtual objects 604 a and/or 604 b may betied to a directional indicator (e.g., vector 606). In some embodiments,virtual objects 604 a and/or 604 b can be placed in a designatedposition, which may include and/or be defined by its position relativeto center 602 and/or vector 606 (e.g., using a spherical coordinatesystem). In some embodiments, virtual objects 604 a and/or 604 b maydeviate from their designated positions if center 602 and/or vector 606changes position (e.g., location and/or orientation). In someembodiments, virtual objects 604 a and/or 604 b may return to theirdesignated positions after center 602 and/or vector 606 stops changingposition, for example after center 602 and/or vector 606 has a fixedposition/value for a predetermined period of time (e.g., 5 seconds).

As shown in FIG. 6B, vector 606 may change direction. In someembodiments, designated positions 608 a and/or 608 b may movecorrespondingly. For example, designated positions 608 a and/or 608 bmay be in the same position relative to center 602 and/or vector 606 inFIG. 6B as they are in FIG. 6A. In some embodiments, virtual objects 604a and/or 604 b may trail a movement of designated positions 608 a and/or608 b. For example, as vector 606 moves from a first position in FIG. 6Ato a second position in FIG. 6B (e.g., to reflect a rotation of a user'shead), virtual objects 604 a and/or 604 b may remain in the sameposition in both FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B (even as designated positions 608 aand/or 608 b move). In some embodiments, virtual objects 604 a and/or604 b may begin moving after vector 606 and/or center 602 has movedand/or begun moving. In some embodiments, virtual objects 604 a and/or604 b may begin moving after vector 606 and/or center 602 has stoppedmoving, for example for a predetermined period of time. In FIG. 6C,virtual objects 604 a and/or 604 b may return to their designatedpositions relative to vector 606 and/or center 602. For example, virtualobjects 604 a and/or 604 b may occupy the same positions relative tovector 606 and/or center 602 in FIG. 6C as they do in FIG. 6A.

Virtual objects 604 a and/or 604 b may deviate from their designatedpositions 608 a and/or 608 b for a period of time. In some embodiments,as vector 606 and/or center 602 changes direction, virtual objects 604 aand/or 604 b may “trace” the movement path of designated position 608 aand/or 608 b, respectively. In some embodiments, virtual objects 604 aand/or 604 b may follow an interpolated path from their current positionto designated position 608 a and/or 608 b, respectively. In someembodiments, virtual objects 604 a and/or 604 b may return to theirdesignated positions once center 602 and/or vector 606 stop acceleratingand/or moving altogether (e.g., linear and/or angular acceleration). Forexample, center 602 may remain a stationary point and vector 606 mayrotate about center 602 (e.g., because a user is rotating their head) ata constant velocity. After a period of time, virtual objects 604 aand/or 604 b may return to their designated positions despite the factthat vector 606 remains moving at a constant velocity. Similarly, insome embodiments, center 602 may move at a constant velocity (and vector606 may remain stationary or may also move in a constant velocity), andvirtual objects 604 a and/or 604 b may return to their designatedpositions after the initial acceleration ceases. In some embodiments,virtual objects 604 a and/or 604 b may return to their designatedpositions once center 602 and/or vector 606 stop moving. For example, ifa user's head is rotating at a constant velocity, virtual objects 604 aand/or 604 b may continue to “lag” behind their designated positionsuntil the user stops spinning their head. In some embodiments, virtualobjects 604 a and/or 604 b may return to their designated positions oncecenter 602 and/or vector 606 stop accelerating. For example, if a user'shead starts rotating and then continues rotating at a constant velocity,virtual objects 604 a and/or 604 b may initially lag behind theirdesignated positions and then reach their designated positions after theuser's head has reached a constant velocity (e.g., for a thresholdperiod of time).

In some embodiments, the one or more sound sources may move as if theywere “elastically” tied to the user's head. For example, as a userrotates their head from a first position to a second position, the oneor more sound sources may not rotate at the same angular velocity as theuser's head. In some embodiments, the one or more sound sources maybegin rotating at a slower angular velocity than the user's head,accelerate angular velocity, and decelerate angular velocity as theyapproach their initial positions relative to the user's head. The rateof change of angular velocity may be capped, for example, at a levelpreset by a sound designer. This can strike a balance between allowingsound sources to move too quickly (which can result in unwanted audioeffects, such as described above) and preventing sound sources frommoving at all (which may not carry the benefits of spatialized audio).

In some embodiments, having one or more spatialized sound sourcesperform a delayed follow can have several advantages. For example,allowing a user to deviate in relative position from a spatialized soundsource can allow the user to perceive a difference in the sound. A usermay notice that a spatialized sound is slightly quieter as the userturns away from the spatialized sound, enhancing the user's immersion inthe MRE. In some embodiments, delayed follow can also maintain a desiredaudio experience. For example, a user may be prevented fromunintentionally distorting an audio experience by approaching a soundsource and remaining very near the sound source. If a sound source isplaced statically relative to an environment, the user may approach thesound source, and a spatializer may undesirably present the sound sourceas overpowering other sound sources as a result of the user's proximity(particularly as the distance between the user and the sound sourceapproaches zero). In some embodiments, delayed follow may move a soundsource to a set position, relative to a user, after a delay, so that theuser may experience enhanced spatialization without compromising anoverall audio effect (e.g., because each sound source may be generallymaintained at desired distances from each other and/or from the user).

In some embodiments, virtual objects 604 a and/or 604 b can have dynamicdesignated positions. For example, designated position 608 a may beconfigured to move (e.g., orbit a user's head or move closer and/orfurther away from a user's head) even if center 602 and vector 606remain stationary. In some embodiments, a dynamic designated positioncan be determined in relation to a center and/or vector (e.g., a movingcenter and/or vector), and a virtual object can move towards itsdesignated position in a delayed follow manner (e.g., by tracingmovements of the designated position and/or interpolating a path).

In some embodiments, virtual objects 604 a and/or 604 b can be placed intheir designated positions using an asset design tool for a game engine(e.g., Unity). In some embodiments, virtual objects 604 a and/or 604 bmay include a game engine object, which may be placed in athree-dimensional environment (e.g., a MRE supported by a game engine).In some embodiments, virtual objects 604 a and/or 604 b may becomponents of a parent object. In some embodiments, a parent object mayinclude parameters such as a corresponding center and/or vector forplacing virtual objects in designated positions. In some embodiments, aparent object may include delayed follow parameters, such as a parameterfor how quickly a virtual object should return to its designatedposition and/or under what circumstances (e.g., constant velocity or nomotion) a virtual object should return to its designated position. Insome embodiments, a parent object may include a parameter for a speed atwhich a virtual object chases its designated position (e.g., whether avirtual object should move at a constant velocity, accelerate, and/ordecelerate). In some embodiments, a parent object may include aparameter to determine a path a virtual object may take from its currentposition to its designated position (e.g., using linear and/orexponential interpolation). In some embodiments, a virtual object (e.g.,virtual objects 604 a and 604 b) may include its own such parameters.

In some embodiments, a game engine may maintain some or all propertiesof virtual objects 604 a and 604 b (e.g., a current and/or designatedlocation of virtual objects 604 a and 604 b). In some embodiments, acurrent location of virtual objects 604 a and 604 b (e.g., through alocation and/or properties of a parent object or a location and/orproperties of virtual objects 604 and 604 b directly) may be passed to aspatializing and/or rendering engine. For example, a spatializing and/orrendering engine may receive a sound emanating from virtual object 604 aas well as a current position of virtual object 604 a. The spatializingand/or rendering engine may process the inputs and produce an outputthat may include a spatialized sound that can be configured to perceivethe sound as originating from the location of virtual object 604 a.Spatializing and/or rendering engine may use any suitable techniques torender spatialized sound, including but not limited to head-relatedtransfer functions and/or distance attenuation techniques.

In some embodiments, a spatializing and/or rendering engine may receivea data structure to render delayed follow spatialized sound. Forexample, a delayed follow data structure may include a data format withparameters and/or metadata regarding position relative to headposeand/or delayed follow parameters. In some embodiments, an applicationrunning on a MR system may send one or more delayed follow datastructures to a spatializing and/or rendering engine to render delayedfollow spatialized sound.

In some embodiments, a soundtrack may be processed into a delayed followdata structure. For example, a 5.1 channel soundtrack may be split intosix stems, and each stem may be assigned to one or more virtual objects(e.g., virtual objects 604 a and 604 b). Each stem/virtual object may beplaced at a preconfigured orientation for 5.1 channel surround sound(e.g., a center speaker stem may be placed directly in front of a user'sface approximately 20 feet in front of the user). In some embodiments,the delayed follow data structure may then be used by the spatializingand/or rendering engine to render delayed follow spatialized sound.

In some embodiments, delayed follow spatialized sound may be renderedfor more than one user. For example, a set of virtual objects configuredto surround a first user may be perceptible to a second user. The seconduser may observe virtual objects/sound sources following the first userin a delayed manner. In some embodiments, a set of virtual objects/soundsources may be configured to surround more than one user. For example, acenter point may be calculated as a center point between the firstuser's head and the second user's head. A vector may be calculated as anaverage vector between vectors representing each user's facingdirection. One or more virtual objects/sound sources may be placedrelative to a dynamically calculated center point and/or vector.

Although two virtual objects are shown in FIGS. 6A-6C, it iscontemplated that any number of virtual objects and/or sound sources maybe used. In some embodiments, each virtual object and/or sound sourcemay have its own, separate parameters. Although a center point/objectand a vector are used to position virtual objects, any appropriatecoordinate system (e.g., Cartesian, spherical, etc.) may be used.

Systems, methods, and computer-readable media are disclosed. Accordingto some examples, a system comprises: a wearable head device having aspeaker and one or more sensors; and one or more processors configuredto perform a method comprising: determining, based on the one or moresensors, a first position of a user's head at a first time; determining,based on the one or more sensors, a second position of the user's headat a second time later than the first time; determining, based on adifference between the first position and the second position, an audiosignal; and presenting the audio signal to the user via the speaker,wherein: determining the audio signal comprises determining an origin ofthe audio signal in a virtual environment; presenting the audio signalto the user comprises presenting the audio signal as if originating fromthe determined origin; and determining the origin of the audio signalcomprises applying an offset to a position of the user's head. In someexamples, determining the origin of the audio signal further comprisesdetermining the origin of the audio signal based on a rate of change ofa position of the user's head. In some examples, determining the originof the audio signal further comprises: in accordance with adetermination that the rate of change exceeds a threshold, determiningthat the origin comprises a first origin; and in accordance with adetermination that the rate of change does not exceed the threshold,determining that the origin comprises a second origin different from thefirst origin. In some examples, determining the origin of the audiosignal further comprises: in accordance with a determination that amagnitude of the offset is below a threshold, determining that theorigin comprises a first origin; and in accordance with a determinationthat the magnitude of the offset is not below the threshold, determiningthat the origin comprises a second origin different from the firstorigin. In some examples, determining the audio signal further comprisesdetermining a velocity in the virtual environment; and presenting theaudio signal to the user further comprises presenting the audio signalas if the origin is in motion with the determined velocity. In someexamples, determining the velocity comprises determining the velocitybased on a difference between the first position of the user's head andthe second position of the user's head. In some examples, the offset isdetermined based on the first position of the user's head.

According to some examples, a method of presenting audio to a user of awearable head device comprises: determining, based on one or moresensors of the wearable head device, a first position of the user's headat a first time; determining, based on the one or more sensors, a secondposition of the user's head at a second time later than the first time;determining, based on a difference between the first position and thesecond position, an audio signal; and presenting the audio signal to theuser via a speaker of the wearable head device, wherein: determining theaudio signal comprises determining an origin of the audio signal in avirtual environment; presenting the audio signal to the user comprisespresenting the audio signal as if originating from the determinedorigin; and determining the origin of the audio signal comprisesapplying an offset to a position of the user's head. In some examples,determining the origin of the audio signal further comprises determiningthe origin of the audio signal based on a rate of change of a positionof the user's head. In some examples, determining the origin of theaudio signal further comprises: in accordance with a determination thatthe rate of change exceeds a threshold, determining that the origincomprises a first origin; and in accordance with a determination thatthe rate of change does not exceed the threshold, determining that theorigin comprises a second origin different from the first origin. Insome examples, determining the origin of the audio signal furthercomprises: in accordance with a determination that a magnitude of theoffset is below a threshold, determining that the origin comprises afirst origin; and in accordance with a determination that the magnitudeof the offset is not below the threshold, determining that the origincomprises a second origin different from the first origin. In someexamples, determining the audio signal further comprises determining avelocity in the virtual environment; and presenting the audio signal tothe user further comprises presenting the audio signal as if the originis in motion with the determined velocity. In some examples, determiningthe velocity comprises determining the velocity based on a differencebetween the first position of the user's head and the second position ofthe user's head. In some examples, the offset is determined based on thefirst position of the user's head.

According to some examples, a non-transitory computer-readable mediumstores instructions which, when executed by one or more processors,cause the one or more processors to perform a method of presenting audioto a user of a wearable head device, the method comprising: determining,based on one or more sensors of the wearable head device, a firstposition of the user's head at a first time; determining, based on theone or more sensors, a second position of the user's head at a secondtime later than the first time; determining, based on a differencebetween the first position and the second position, an audio signal; andpresenting the audio signal to the user via a speaker of the wearablehead device, wherein: determining the audio signal comprises determiningan origin of the audio signal in a virtual environment; presenting theaudio signal to the user comprises presenting the audio signal as iforiginating from the determined origin; and determining the origin ofthe audio signal comprises applying an offset to a position of theuser's head. In some examples, determining the origin of the audiosignal further comprises determining the origin of the audio signalbased on a rate of change of a position of the user's head. In someexamples, determining the origin of the audio signal further comprises:in accordance with a determination that the rate of change exceeds athreshold, determining that the origin comprises a first origin; and inaccordance with a determination that the rate of change does not exceedthe threshold, determining that the origin comprises a second origindifferent from the first origin. In some examples, determining theorigin of the audio signal further comprises: in accordance with adetermination that a magnitude of the offset is below a threshold,determining that the origin comprises a first origin; and in accordancewith a determination that the magnitude of the offset is not below thethreshold, determining that the origin comprises a second origindifferent from the first origin. In some examples, determining the audiosignal further comprises determining a velocity in the virtualenvironment; and presenting the audio signal to the user furthercomprises presenting the audio signal as if the origin is in motion withthe determined velocity. In some examples, determining the velocitycomprises determining the velocity based on a difference between thefirst position of the user's head and the second position of the user'shead. In some examples, the offset is determined based on the firstposition of the user's head.

Although the disclosed examples have been fully described with referenceto the accompanying drawings, it is to be noted that various changes andmodifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art. Forexample, elements of one or more implementations may be combined,deleted, modified, or supplemented to form further implementations. Suchchanges and modifications are to be understood as being included withinthe scope of the disclosed examples as defined by the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a wearable head device having a speaker and one or more sensors; and one or more processors configured to perform a method comprising: determining, based on the one or more sensors, a first position of a user's head at a first time; determining, based on the one or more sensors, a second position of the user's head at a second time later than the first time; determining, based on a difference between the first position and the second position, an audio signal; and presenting the audio signal to the user via the speaker, wherein: determining the audio signal comprises determining an origin of the audio signal in a virtual environment; presenting the audio signal to the user comprises presenting the audio signal as if originating from the determined origin; determining the origin of the audio signal comprises applying an offset to a position of the user's head; determining the audio signal further comprises determining a velocity in the virtual environment; and presenting the audio signal to the user further comprises presenting the audio signal as if the origin is in motion with the determined velocity.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein determining the origin of the audio signal further comprises determining the origin of the audio signal based on a rate of change of a position of the user's head.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein determining the origin of the audio signal further comprises: in accordance with a determination that the rate of change exceeds a threshold, determining that the origin comprises a first origin; and in accordance with a determination that the rate of change does not exceed the threshold, determining that the origin comprises a second origin different from the first origin.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein determining the origin of the audio signal further comprises: in accordance with a determination that a magnitude of the offset is below a threshold, determining that the origin comprises a first origin; and in accordance with a determination that the magnitude of the offset is not below the threshold, determining that the origin comprises a second origin different from the first origin.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the determined velocity comprises an angular velocity.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein: determining the velocity comprises determining the velocity based on a difference between the first position of the user's head and the second position of the user's head.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the offset is determined based on the first position of the user's head.
 8. A method of presenting audio to a user of a wearable head device, the method comprising: determining, based on one or more sensors of the wearable head device, a first position of the user's head at a first time; determining, based on the one or more sensors, a second position of the user's head at a second time later than the first time; determining, based on a difference between the first position and the second position, an audio signal; and presenting the audio signal to the user via a speaker of the wearable head device, wherein: determining the audio signal comprises determining an origin of the audio signal in a virtual environment; presenting the audio signal to the user comprises presenting the audio signal as if originating from the determined origin; determining the origin of the audio signal comprises applying an offset to a position of the user's head; determining the audio signal further comprises determining a velocity in the virtual environment; and presenting the audio signal to the user further comprises presenting the audio signal as if the origin is in motion with the determined velocity.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein determining the origin of the audio signal further comprises determining the origin of the audio signal based on a rate of change of a position of the user's head.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein determining the origin of the audio signal further comprises: in accordance with a determination that the rate of change exceeds a threshold, determining that the origin comprises a first origin; and in accordance with a determination that the rate of change does not exceed the threshold, determining that the origin comprises a second origin different from the first origin.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein determining the origin of the audio signal further comprises: in accordance with a determination that a magnitude of the offset is below a threshold, determining that the origin comprises a first origin; and in accordance with a determination that the magnitude of the offset is not below the threshold, determining that the origin comprises a second origin different from the first origin.
 12. The method of claim 8, wherein the determined velocity comprises an angular velocity.
 13. The method of claim 8, wherein: determining the velocity comprises determining the velocity based on a difference between the first position of the user's head and the second position of the user's head.
 14. The method of claim 8, wherein the offset is determined based on the first position of the user's head.
 15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method of presenting audio to a user of a wearable head device, the method comprising: determining, based on one or more sensors of the wearable head device, a first position of the user's head at a first time; determining, based on the one or more sensors, a second position of the user's head at a second time later than the first time; determining, based on a difference between the first position and the second position, an audio signal; and presenting the audio signal to the user via a speaker of the wearable head device, wherein: determining the audio signal comprises determining an origin of the audio signal in a virtual environment; presenting the audio signal to the user comprises presenting the audio signal as if originating from the determined origin; determining the origin of the audio signal comprises applying an offset to a position of the user's head; determining the audio signal further comprises determining a velocity in the virtual environment; and presenting the audio signal to the user further comprises presenting the audio signal as if the origin is in motion with the determined velocity.
 16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein determining the origin of the audio signal further comprises determining the origin of the audio signal based on a rate of change of a position of the user's head.
 17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein determining the origin of the audio signal further comprises: in accordance with a determination that the rate of change exceeds a threshold, determining that the origin comprises a first origin; and in accordance with a determination that the rate of change does not exceed the threshold, determining that the origin comprises a second origin different from the first origin.
 18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein determining the origin of the audio signal further comprises: in accordance with a determination that a magnitude of the offset is below a threshold, determining that the origin comprises a first origin; and in accordance with a determination that the magnitude of the offset is not below the threshold, determining that the origin comprises a second origin different from the first origin.
 19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the determined velocity comprises an angular velocity.
 20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein: determining the velocity comprises determining the velocity based on a difference between the first position of the user's head and the second position of the user's head. 